1. Field
This disclosure relates to a surface-modified phosphor, to a method of manufacturing the surface-modified phosphor, and to a light emitting device including the surface-modified phosphor.
2. Description of the Related Art
Display devices may be classified as a self-emission type display device that emits light to display an image or as a light-receiving type display device that controls light emitted by a separate light source to display an image. A representative example of the light-receiving type display device is a liquid crystal display (“LCD”) device.
The LCD device is one type of flat panel display devices that have found a wide range of applications, and includes two substrates including field generating electrodes formed thereon, such as a pixel electrode and a common electrode, a liquid crystal layer between the two substrates, and a backlight device providing light to the liquid crystal layer. The LCD device applies a voltage to the field generating electrodes so as to generate an electric field over the liquid crystal layer, and orientation of the liquid crystal molecules of a liquid crystal layer is determined based on the electric field so that an amount of light emission of the backlight device is controlled, such that an image may be displayed. The backlight device includes a light source emitting light, a light guide plate dispersing the light emitted by the light source to convert the light into a surface light source, and various diffusion films.
The light source that emits light can use a cold cathode fluorescent lamp (“CCFL”), an external electrode fluorescent lamp (“EEFL”), or the like, and a light emitting diode (“LED”) is currently widely used.
An LCD device using a color filter desirably receives white light, and to generate the white light, a method of utilizing blue light emitted from an LED to excite a phosphor which absorbs a part of the blue light resulting in excitation luminescence may be employed.
The phosphor may be manufactured through a ball mill process, and the phosphor formed through the ball mill process can have a fine crack, e.g., a fracture, which may or may not penetrate the particle. Due to the fine crack, light efficiency of the phosphor may decrease, and deterioration of the phosphor by heat or moisture may be accelerated. Thus the remains a need for an improved phosphor.